Intimidation
by cein
Summary: Lawson finds out the hard way that Munro and his allies won't give up without a fight. He manages to state his case but will there be a price to pay? chapter 6/6
1. Abduction

Title: Intimidation  
Chapter: 1 - Abduction  
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Type of Story: Multi-part  
Characters: Matthew Lawson  
Rating: 15  
Spoilers: Set soon after S3  
Summary: Lawson finds out the hard way that Munro won't give up without a fight.  
Word count: ~ 2,200  
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended. 

* * *

He was taken late one night.

It had been a long day, a tiring day, and Lawson was weary and distracted as he pulled up in front of his house and got out of the car. He reached in to grab his satchel and had just closed the door when he heard his name being called.

"Chief Inspector Lawson?"

Lawson turned around to see a man approaching him. "Yes, what do you want?"

"My boss would like to have a word with you."

Lawson locked the car door, "Tell him to make an appointment down at the station in the morning. I'm off duty."  
"Mister Morgan doesn't really like doing business in police stations. He would much prefer to meet you right now."

Lawson glanced up quickly and saw that the man was now holding a gun on him. "Looks like I don't have much say in the matter." He sighed heavily, "Fine, I'll be right..." He swung the satchel at the gun, knocking it out of the man's hand and then lunged forward, grabbing him by the shirt collar and slamming him back against the car. The man managed to punch Lawson in the ribs, making him lose his grip, but Lawson grabbed his arm and twisted him around, slamming him face first into the bonnet of the car before putting him in an arm lock that made his opponent cry out in pain. Lawson put his face close to the man's ear and growled, "You can tell your boss, wherever he's hiding, that he can go to hell. The only reason I'm not charging you is because I don't want to be filing paperwork all night."

Lawson froze as heard the sound of a pistol being cocked inches from the back of his head. He cursed inwardly as he realised that he should have checked for an accomplice.

"Take a step back and put your hands on your head," a thin reedy voice instructed. Lawson did as he was told, knowing that two men and a gun were not something he was going to be able to argue with.

The first man pushed himself away from the car and straightened his clothing before retrieving his gun from where it had fallen. "You're lucky Mister Morgan told us to bring you in alive."  
Lawson relaxed slightly as his captor continued, "But he didn't say anything about you being unmarked." Before Lawson could react, the gun was smashed into his face.

Lawson found himself on his hands and knees on the ground. He felt a stone under his left palm and his hand involuntarily closed on it, even as one of the men grabbed his right arm to pull him upright. As Lawson rose to his feet, he lashed out and hit the man with the stone, knocking him off balance before grabbing him and using him as a shield. Shaking his head to clear it, Lawson saw that he was holding the reedy voiced man. "Drop your gun," he said to the first man, "Or I'll break his neck!" Lawson had his arm across his hostage's windpipe and he squeezed just enough to make the man gasp for breath.

"Go ahead," said the first man, with a shrug. "Choke him all you want. Once he's unconscious or dead, I'll just go ahead and shoot you. And believe me; my aim is good enough that it'll be a non-lethal wound. The only difference it'll make is that I'll have to drag you to my boss and that's going to really annoy me, so I might have to take it out on you. But let him go, and maybe I can persuade my buddy Eddie here not to mark you any further."

It was a stalemate and Lawson knew it. Reluctantly he let Eddie go, only for him to round on Lawson and punch him hard in the stomach. For the second time that night, Lawson slumped to the ground.

"Ah, it would appear that I'm not all that persuasive."  
Before Lawson could recover, his hands were tied roughly behind him and a cloth bag was pulled over his head. He was half dragged, half carried to a nearby car and shoved into the boot. 

* * *

It wasn't a smooth ride. Lawson tried to keep a count of the turns the car took on its journey but there were just too many for him to remember. Just when he had lost all track of time and direction, the car came to a halt and the engine was switched off. Lawson tensed involuntarily as he waited for what was to come. But nothing happened.

It felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes later, when Lawson realised he could hear muffled voices coming from the interior of the car.

"How long until the boss gets here, Scott?" That was Eddie's voice, a little rougher than it had been earlier.  
"He said he was leaving immediately," replied Scott. "Shouldn't be more than another hour or so."

"Figures," thought Lawson, grimly. "The likes of Morgan wouldn't be hanging around Ballarat, waiting for his goons to pick me up." They'd have had a long wait. Lawson had stayed late at the station that night, finishing paperwork. "No, he'll have stayed put in Melbourne, maybe working up a nice alibi, just in case." Lawson had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, knowing that men like Morgan weren't likely to want to leave loose ends. "But if he'd wanted me dead, he would have had his men kill me on the spot," Lawson told himself. "Or maybe all that means is that he doesn't want me dead yet." Well, it wasn't like he could do anything about it for the time being.

Lawson pulled at the ropes around his wrists, but Eddie and Scott had done their work well and he couldn't loosen them at all. Finally, he gave up and tried to find the least uncomfortable position to lie in. 

* * *

The sound of the boot opening woke Lawson from the half sleep he'd fallen into. Hands grabbed at him, pulling him roughly out of the boot. Lawson's legs were stiff from the cramped position he'd been in, and he could barely walk as he was steered across a small patch of ground. He heard a door open and he was shoved forward, bumping into the doorframe before being grabbed again. Lawson stumbled over the uneven flooring as he was guided through the building, before being forced to his knees.

The bag was pulled off his head, and Lawson blinked as he looked around, taking in his surroundings. What light there was came from a lantern that had been placed on a box beside him, but it was enough for Lawson to see the stone walls of what looked to be a disused outbuilding. There was something familiar about it, something tugging at the recesses of Lawson's mind and then it hit him. This was where Sid Bartel had been murdered...where Andy Morgan had been executed...kneeling, with hands and wrists bound just like he was now. A flash of panic washed over Lawson and he couldn't stop himself from trying to rise to his feet.  
A cuff to the side of his head sent him sprawling on the ground, and was quickly followed by a kick to his ribs. Lawson groaned in pain as he was manhandled back to a kneeling position. He heard the sound of the door opening and looked up as footsteps approached him.

"Inspector Lawson."

Lawson didn't recognize the voice, but even in the dim light there was no mistaking Froggy Morgan whose face Lawson had last seen in that incriminating photo with Munro.

"Sorry about the surroundings, but I needed somewhere out of the way to have a little chat." Morgan pulled up an old crate and sat in front of Lawson.

"I have nothing to say to you, Froggy," growled Lawson. His head was spinning and his ribs felt like they were on fire.

Morgan smiled before calmly backhanding Lawson across the face. "That's Mister Morgan to you." He watched as Lawson spat out some blood before glaring defiantly back at him.

"Now," continued Morgan, "You and I have a mutual acquaintance that's in a spot of trouble and needs some help. Trouble of your making, I might add. And I feel it's only fair that you set things right and make all this trouble go away. All you need to do is retract your original statement and explain just how you made such a terrible mistake in accusing Superintendent Munro."

"Go to hell," said Lawson. "Munro deserves all he gets."

"If you're worried about whether it will affect your own standing in the police force," Morgan continued as if Lawson hadn't said a word. "I can assure you that you won't face any penalties for your mistake. You'll even get to take that early retirement that Munro so generously offered you a few weeks ago."

"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" snapped Lawson. "Hell, even if I *did* retract my statement, there's enough evidence to damn the man." He felt a movement of air beside him and ducked out of the way of Eddie's hand.

"You don't call Mister Morgan, 'stupid'," said Eddie, his hand raised to strike again.

"Easy there, Eddie," said Morgan, "Inspector Lawson here just needs to have a few things explained to him...verbally that is." He waited until Eddie had lowered his hand and taken a step back. "You can rest assured that without your statement, it will be quickly determined that there is no case to answer."

"You've got somebody on the committee in your pocket," said Lawson. It was more of a statement than a question. "So why the hell not just get the charges dismissed? Why bother with all of this?" He shifted uneasily on the cold uncomfortable floor.

"William Munro is not my only friend in the police force," said Morgan with a smile, "But there are procedures to follow and it's a lot easier to have a case dismissed for lack of evidence when the most significant piece of evidence is disproven."

"Yeah, well you can forget about it," said Lawson, "And if you think that keeping me from testifying tomorrow will help his case, you can forget about it. My statement is on record and it'll stay there, even without me." There was a defiant tone to Lawson's voice, which belied the touch of fear he was feeling.

Morgan sighed theatrically, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. But I always like to have a plan B. Certain documents have been prepared, documents which prove that you deliberately framed Superintendent Munro. Perhaps they may not carry as much weight as a signed retraction, but when they're found alongside your confession and suicide note. Well, I think that my friend on the committee will have no problem with recommending that all charges be dropped. William might even get a formal apology, possibly even a promotion to show that there's no hard feelings."

"You're bluffing," said Lawson, his heart pounding in his chest.

"It will be a simple story; a corrupt copper was demoted. Bitter and twisted, he sought revenge on the man who was unlucky enough to have been appointed to his former position. When he realised the consequences of his actions, he took the coward's way out, but retained enough integrity to clear his fellow officer of any wrongdoing."

"And how are you going to explain away my pre-mortem injuries?" said Lawson, "Tell people that I beat myself up before topping myself?"

Morgan shrugged, "We can always improvise. Dispose of your body and make it appear that you shot through."

Lawson shook his head, "Nobody will ever believe it," he said hoarsely, trying to convince himself as much as Morgan.

"Who?" asked Morgan, "Davis and Blake? A wet behind the ears copper with a promotion he earned by pointing out your shortcomings? Or a drunkard of a doctor who would have been sacked long ago by any other Superintendent? Davis will toe the official line if he wants to keep his job. And Blake, well, let's just say that accidents have a way of 'happening'. Who will really be surprised if the good doctor has a few too many before sitting behind the wheel of his car and driving it into a tree. They may even think it was a deliberate act done in shame at being party to the downfall of a good man." Morgan moved over to Lawson and patted him on the shoulder. "Think of it Lawson, you won't just be saving *your* life, you'll be saving his as well." His grip tightened painfully on Lawson's shoulder. "What's it going to be?"

"They had him," thought Lawson grimly. "Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea." He knew his own life was most likely forfeit anyway. Morgan wasn't fool enough to take the chance that he would recant the retraction. "No," thought Lawson, "as soon as Munro is safely off the hook, I'm a dead man. But if I refuse, then I'm a dead man *now*." He took a deep shuddering breath and tried to calm himself. Finally, he spoke in a voice barely audible. "Okay. I...I'll do it..."

* * *

to be continued 


	2. Recantation

Title: Intimidation  
Chapter: 2 - Recantation  
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Type of Story: Multi-part  
Characters: Matthew Lawson  
Rating: 15  
Spoilers: Seasons 3  
Summary: Lawson is being forced to recant his statement against Munro, but will he be able to escape his captors before the damage is done?  
Word count: ~ 3,200  
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.  
Previously: Lawson was abducted by men working for 'Froggy' Morgan. Morgan wanted Lawson to write a retraction to his accusations against Munro. It took threats against both Charlie and Blake to force him to comply.

Lawson knew his own life was most likely forfeit anyway. Morgan wasn't fool enough to take the chance that he would recant the retraction. "No," thought Lawson, "as soon as Munro is safely off the hook, I'm a dead man. But if I refuse, then I'm a dead man *now*." He took a deep shuddering breath and tried to calm himself. Finally, he spoke in a voice barely audible. "Okay. I...I'll do it..."

* * *

Morgan had planned it to the last detail thought Lawson. He'd supplied a cheap notepad, one that could be purchased in any half decent paper shop, together with an equally cheap pen for Lawson to write with. He'd also produced a statement for Lawson to copy which detailed exactly how circumstances had been misinterpreted and had led to his mistaken accusation. It was all dressed up in police parlance, so much so that even if Lawson hadn't recognized Munro's handwriting, he could have guessed that a police officer had drafted it.

An empty crate was placed in front of Lawson to give him a flat writing surface and the ropes around his wrists were cut. Lawson flexed his hands, wincing at the raw spots from where he'd struggled against the ropes. He briefly considered the possibility of fighting his way free, but whatever about the pen being mightier than the sword, he was pretty certain it wasn't mightier than the gun with which Scott was covering him.  
"Make sure it's nice and legible," said Morgan, placing the sheets of paper in front of him. "We don't want it being rejected because they can't read your writing."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before your men tied the ropes so tightly," snapped Lawson. He picked up the pen, grimacing slightly and started to write. 

* * *

"Pick up the pace," ordered Morgan, as Lawson finished the first paragraph. "I haven't got all night."

"You said you wanted it legible," said Lawson, with studied patience. "Make up your bloody mind." He returned to his writing, but if anything, slowed his pace a bit more. It wasn't that he was deliberately trying to piss off Morgan – although that was an added bonus, as angry people tended to slip up – but Lawson was dragging things out simply to give himself more time to think of a plan to get out of the hole he was in.  
Unfortunately, such a plan didn't seem to be forthcoming. Lawson didn't know whether it was his general exhaustion or just one too many punches, but it was taking all his efforts just to concentrate on getting the words down correctly. Having Morgan practically breathing down his neck as he wrote wasn't helping either.

Lawson finished another page which was immediately picked up by Morgan and examined for mistakes. He took the opportunity to put the pen down and flex his hand which was starting to cramp up from all the writing.  
"Who said you could stop writing," snapped Eddie, "You've plenty more pages to go."

"Easy Eddie," said Morgan, looking up from the page he was reading. "The Inspector will get a move on. I'm sure he wouldn't want us to encourage him by maybe breaking a few fingers on the hand he's not writing with."

"Just say the word, Boss," said Eddie, an eager tone in his voice.

"Not yet," said Morgan. "He's doing okay so far."

Lawson took the hint and picked up the pen again. He lost track of time as he wrote, but finally the last page was finished. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his plan which at the moment, consisted mainly of waiting for Morgan to leave and then taking his chances with just Scott and Eddie. Lawson had reasoned that Morgan would head straight back to Melbourne as soon as he had the finished document in his hands. Partly to make sure that it was in the hands of the committee as soon as possible, but also to give himself an alibi if necessary for when the author of said document turned up dead. And Lawson was even surer now that Morgan wasn't going to just let him go once the committee had made his ruling. "No," he thought as he waited for Morgan to finish reading. "He won't take the chance that I'd spill the beans and kick up a fuss. He wants Munro to come out of this smelling of roses."

"Don't forget the signature," said Morgan as he handed back the document. "We want everybody to know that this is all your work."

Lawson signed the pages one by one. His hand clenched on the pen as he realised he could well be signing his own death warrant.

"I'll take those," said Eddie, picking up the pages. "Not so cocky now, are we 'Inspector'?"  
It was the sneer that did it. Lawson had told himself to be patient, to ignore all of Eddie's jibes and sly comments. He could tell that the man was a bully, delighted to have somebody at his mercy to torment, and Lawson had held his temper, knowing that he was outnumbered and any attempts to retaliate would be punished severely. It wasn't as if it was the first time he'd had to deal with it. And then Eddie had sneered at him, and for a second, Lawson was back behind the bicycle shed with McAvoy and his mates, sneering at him for being a copper's son.  
"Not so cocky now, are we 'Splashy'?"

With a growl, Lawson lunged forward and stabbed the pen forcefully into the back of Eddie's hand. He felt a small measure of satisfaction at the scream the other man let out, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. "It's now or never," thought Lawson as he grabbed the makeshift table, using it as leverage to push himself to his feet before grabbing it and swinging it like a club towards Scott, knocking the gun out of his hand. The next swing was aimed at Scott's head, but he ducked out of the way and then charged forward catching Lawson in the chest and taking them both to the ground. Lawson managed to punch Scott in the ribs, shoving him off of him and rolling to one side and then he spotted the gun on the ground and with a mighty effort he lunged for it. Lawson had barely managed to get his left hand to it when a foot stamped down on it, making him cry out in pain. He looked up to see a pale looking Eddie glaring down at him before raising his foot and drawing it back as if he was about to take a free kick using Lawson's head as the ball.

"Eddie, I think that the Inspector has learned his lesson." Morgan's voice cut through the silence.

"But Boss!" Eddie's voice was indignant, "You saw what he did to me!"

"Yes, and while it was certainly ill advised on his part, I can't say it was entirely unexpected. Pick him up and we can conclude our business."

Eddie didn't look too happy about it, thought Lawson with a trace of satisfaction, but he obeyed. Lawson couldn't stop a cry of pain as was hauled to his feet none too gently and then frogmarched to the back wall of the building. Eddie and Scott held him pinned against the wall as Morgan approached.

"Now, Inspector Lawson," said Morgan, "I am going to take my leave of you and put this document in the hands of the appropriate authorities." He carefully folded the pages and put them in his inside pocket. "Scott and Eddie will keep you safe until the committee have made their recommendations. After that, well, what you do will be no concern of mine. Good night, Inspector. I doubt we'll meet again."

"If we do, you'll be in handcuffs," said Lawson, "That's a promise." He glared defiantly at Morgan.

"I would advise you not to antagonize my men any further," said Morgan. "Safe does not have to mean in good health. Scott, a word, please." Scott followed him to the door, and listened as Morgan whispered in his ear. Lawson couldn't hear what was being said, but from the way Scott glanced in his direction, he was pretty sure it wasn't a request to keep him in good health. 

* * *

"Morgan must trust you guys a lot," said Lawson some time later. His watch had been broken when Eddie had stamped on him, but he figured it had been less than an hour since Morgan had left. He shifted uncomfortably on the floor where he was sitting, his injured hand cradled gently in the other. "Assault on a police officer, abduction of a police officer...those are pretty serious offences. Most criminals, especially at Morgan's level, try to avoid antagonizing the police force unnecessarily."

Scott didn't react, but Eddie brightened up a bit. "Too right he trusts us," he said, almost beaming with pride.

"Trusts you to keep your mouth shut afterwards," said Lawson, adding with deceptive casualness, "Or maybe he figures he won't have to worry about it once all this is over." Now he had Scott's attention as well.

"What are you saying?"

Lawson shrugged, "Nothing. Just thinking that if I was in his position, with a few of my men after committing some serious crimes against a senior member of the police force, well, I might want to make sure that they wouldn't have a crisis of conscience later on..." He let the words hang in the air.

Eddie looked nervously at Scott, "What's he talking about? Mr. Morgan, he knows he can trust us, right?"

"Why don't you take a quick look around outside, Eddie," said Scott, calmly. "Make sure there's nobody about." He waited until Eddie was out of earshot before going over to Lawson and crouching down in front of him. "I know what you're up to," he said quietly. "Trying to get us to turn on Morgan. But it won't work. We're going to do what we were told to do, go home, and that's all there is to it."

"You're a fool if you think that's the end of it. You really think Morgan will take the chance that you too will keep your mouths shut?" snapped Lawson, "Eddie might think that you're going to let me go once all this is over, but you and I know better than that." By the look on Scott's face, Lawson could see that he'd guessed correctly. "Look, it's not too late to put a stop to this. You bring me back to Ballarat station, make a statement against Morgan and I'll see to it that you get a fair hearing in court."

For a few seconds it looked like Scott was wavering, and then his gun was in his hand and pointing straight at Lawson's face. "I think that you should stop talking now," said Scott. "You're making Eddie nervous, and when he gets nervous, well, accidents can happen."

"You mean he might kill me before you get a chance to? What difference will it make to me?" Lawson spoke with a bravado he didn't feel, but inwardly his heart was pounding as he looked down the barrel of the gun.

"We have a certain amount of leeway with regard to your 'demise', Inspector," said Scott. "It can be quick and painless." He touched the barrel of the gun to Lawson's forehead, "Or it can be slow and painful." He moved the barrel of the gun to Lawson's leg. "Bleeding to death can be a nasty way to go."

Lawson swallowed hard as Scott stood and walked away, but he had seen something that Scott had missed, namely Eddie looking in the through one of the glassless windows and watching the conversation. 

* * *

It felt like another hour had passed before Lawson had a chance to make his next move. Scott had gone outside a few minutes earlier, muttering something about draining the lizard.

Lawson shifted uncomfortably on the cold floor and groaned loudly as he flexed his injured hand. While it was throbbing painfully, it was by no means as badly injured as he'd made it out to be earlier, playing up the injury in order to convince Scott that he should be left untied. "I can't even move it properly," he'd said through gritted teeth. He must have been convincing enough because his hands had been left free.

"Serves you right, copper," snapped Eddie. He had a bloodstained handkerchief wrapped around his own hand and as Lawson watched, he took out a hipflask and took a drink from it.

"Don't suppose you could spare a bit?" asked Lawson, a hopeful note in his voice.

Eddie walked over to him, held the flask out to Lawson but just as he was about to reach for it, Eddie pulled it away and put it to his own lips, taking a long deep swallow. "Ah, that hits the spot," he said before turning away and going back to his own corner.

Lawson dropped his head to hide a smile. Eddie had been sneaking a nip on his flask at every opportunity since Morgan had left and while he was by no means drunk, Lawson was hoping that it would slow Eddie's reactions enough to improve the odds when he made his move. In between drinks, Eddie had also been casting suspicious glances at Scott ever since he'd returned from his brief trip outside.

"He doesn't trust you, you know that," said Lawson.

"I already told you, Mister Morgan *does* trust us," said Eddie.

"I wasn't talking about him," said Lawson. "Didn't you wonder what Morgan said to Scott before he left?" He saw a worried look flash across Eddie's face, "What do you think Morgan had to say to him that he didn't want to say in front of you? You think he was praising him for a job well done?" Lawson scoffed, "Or maybe he was reminding him of the rest of the job. You do know what's going to happen?" Lawson shook his head in mock disbelief. "Of course you don't. Scott probably told you that this was just going to be a kidnapping and that you'd be letting me go when it was over. Makes sense I guess. Reckon if you're planning on making somebody a patsy to a murder, last thing you want is them to get cold feet part way through."

"Shut up!" snapped Eddie, "You're lying...they wouldn't do that to me." He had his gun out and pointed it at Lawson with an unsteady hand. "You just shut the hell up right now!"

"Or what?" said Lawson, "You shoot me now; you're just playing right into their hands. Hell, Scott won't even have to fake up any evidence to frame you." Lawson slowly pushed himself to his feet, not taking his eyes off the gun. "Scott as much as said I wasn't getting out of here alive, and he doesn't strike me as the type to leave loose ends around." Lawson was so focused on Eddie and his gun that he didn't realise they were no longer alone.

"I told you to stop talking to Eddie."

Eddie started at the sound of Scott's voice and half turned around. "Is it true?" he asked, "All this stuff he's been saying about you going to kill him and pin it on me. Is it true?"

Scott's gun was aimed squarely at Lawson and he barely gave Eddie a glance as he replied, "You don't want to believe anything he says. We're here to do a job and then go home, that's all you need to know."

"Mister Morgan never said anything about killing a copper," said Eddie, "They hang you for that!"

With both guns turned on him, Lawson knew his chances of survival were dropping sharply unless he could think of something, "You won't need to worry about being hanged, Eddie. They can't hang a dead man."

"I told you to shut up," snapped Scott, but Lawson's words had hit a nerve with Eddie and he turned his attention and his gun towards his partner.

"Why would you do that?" said Eddie, "I thought we were friends?"

Scott glanced away from Lawson and saw the gun pointed at him, "Eddie, don't be an idiot, put the gun away. We'll deal with him and then we'll leave...both of us."

Eddie shook his head, "I don't believe you...you put *your* gun down."

"Okay," said Scott, "I'll put my gun down..." He made as if to lay the gun down on the ground but before either of the other men could react, he suddenly whirled around towards Eddie and pulled the trigger.

Lawson heard a second shot even as he dove to the ground out of the crossfire. As the echoes of the shots died away, he looked up to see Scott clutch at his stomach where a small bloodstain was growing steadily larger. With a loud groan, he collapsed to the ground in a heap. Eddie was still standing, but a hole in the wall behind him showed Lawson just how close Scott's shot had come. Eddie's face was white as a sheet and his hand was shaking. "I...I've killed him...oh God, I've killed him..." He turned to where Lawson was crouched, "I...I never shot anybody before..."

"It was self-defence," said Lawson, his voice as reassuring as he could make it. "He was going to kill you. You didn't have a choice. And I'll swear to it in a court of law," He stood, slowly. "But I need you to give me your gun..."

Eddie shook his head, "I can't do that...Mister Morgan..." He swallowed hard, "I've got to finish the job...maybe, maybe I can tell him that you did it." His fear seemed to be fading as he thought things through, "Yes, I can tell him that you killed Scott and I had to shoot you...yeah, he'll believe that...maybe even give me Scott's job."

"You don't want to do that Eddie," said Lawson, backing away. "Even if Morgan believed you, he still won't take any chances. You go back to him you're a dead man. Turn yourself in... it's the only way..."

"I think I'll take my chances with Morgan," said Eddie.

Lawson had backed himself up against the wall and his mouth was dry as Eddie took a step towards him, moving past Scott's prone body. And then Scott's hand shot out, weakly grabbing Eddie's ankle. "Help...me..." gasped Scott.

Eddie cried out in shock and swung around, firing at Scott over and over. Wild eyed he turned back to Lawson, pulling the trigger again...only for the firing pin to click on an empty chamber. Both Eddie and Lawson stared at the gun in disbelief for a few seconds, but Lawson was the first one to react, lunging forward to try and tackle Eddie who immediately turned and ran. Lawson tried to give chase, but stumbled on the uneven floor and nearly fell. By the time he'd regained his footing and reached the door, all he could see were the rear lights of the car as it sped off down the track.

Lawson swore under his breath as he slumped against the doorframe. And then the implications of what had just happened hit him. "If there'd been another bullet in that clip..." The realisation sent a cold chill down his spine and his legs gave way beneath him.

It could have been minutes or even an hour before Lawson's senses returned. He glanced at his watch before remembering it was broken. It took all of his effort to force himself to his feet, when all he wanted was to just curl up in a corner and rest, but the night wasn't over yet. He forced himself to walk over to Scott's body, just to make sure the man was dead and to make his weapon safe.

"It's going to be a long walk back to Ballarat," Lawson told himself as he finally stepped out into the night. 

* * *

To be continued 


	3. Liberation

Title: Intimidation  
Chapter: 3 - Liberation  
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Type of Story: Multi-part  
Characters: Matthew Lawson, Lucien Blake, Mattie O'Brien  
Rating: 15  
Spoilers: Seasons 3  
Summary: Lawson finds some allies in his conflict with Munro  
Word count: ~ 1,400  
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Previously: Lawson was abducted by men working for 'Froggy' Morgan and forced to write a retraction to his accusations against Munro. After Morgan left with the retraction Lawson managed to turn his men against each other. One was killed in the resulting shoot-out and the other made a run for it, leaving Lawson to make his way to safety.

"It's going to be a long walk back to Ballarat," Lawson told himself as he finally stepped out into the night.

* * *

"Lucien!" The insistent voice and the accompanying tapping on the door broke through Blake's sleep and he forced his eyes open, blinking slightly as he tried to focus. To his surprise, Mattie was standing there, dressing gown wrapped tightly around her as she moved into the room.

"Mattie?" Blake sat up in the bed, "Is everything all right? Did I sleep through the phone?"

Mattie shook her head, "No, but I think there's somebody at the door. I was up getting a drink of water and I heard a noise." Even as she spoke, Blake could hear a slow repetitive banging on the door.

"Thank you Mattie," said Blake, pushing back the bedclothes and getting up. "I'll deal with whoever it is." He pulled on his dressing gown as he went, switching on the light as he walked down the hall to the front door. "Yes, I'm coming," he said as he pulled back the bolts. "Now what can I do...bloody hell, Lawson, what sort of time do you call this  
"Don't know," muttered Lawson, "My watch is broken..." He took a deep breath, grimacing slightly as he stepped forward into the hall. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Mattie as the light fell on his bruised and battered face.

"What on earth happened to you, Inspector?"

"I need to speak to Davis," said Lawson, ignoring the question as he focused on staying upright.

"Charlie's not here," said Blake, "He went down to Melbourne last night."

Lawson groaned as he remembered Davis telling him that earlier in the day, no, he corrected himself, yesterday. He'd been so intent on getting back to Ballarat that he'd completely forgotten that Davis had planned to stay with his mother that night, not wanting to take any chances on being delayed the next morning. "Then I need to get to Melbourne as well."

"Hold on a minute," said Blake, as Lawson started to turn away. "You don't look in any state to be going anywhere. Come inside and let me take a look at you."

"There's no time," growled Lawson, "If I don't get to Melbourne in time..." His voice trailed off and he clutched at the doorframe as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

"All right, that's it," Lawson heard Blake say, "Mattie, give me a hand to get him into the surgery." Lawson felt two pairs of hands supporting him and guiding him as he limped slowly through the house.

* * *

Half an hour later, Lawson was sitting on Blake's examination table and feeling much more like his old self. Mattie had brewed a pot of tea and Lawson was sipping from a steaming cup as Blake gently probed the hand which Eddie had stamped on. As Blake had been checking him over and patching up his various injuries, Lawson had related the events that had taken place. Blake had been understandably furious at what had transpired.

"That absolute bastard," said Blake.

"Blake!" snapped Lawson, glancing at Mattie.

"Ah, Mattie, I do apologize for letting my language get away with me," said Blake, "But honestly, I can't believe the lengths that Munro is prepared to stoop to in order to save his skin." He let go of Lawson's hand. "I don't think you've done any permanent damage but I'll need to bring you to the hospital to get it x-rayed. Some of the smaller bones could easily be broken. I'll strap it up and then we can be on our way."

"No," said Lawson, shaking his head. "Just patch me up enough so I can get behind the wheel and then I'd appreciate it if you could drop me back to my car."

Blake and Mattie exchanged glances before Blake spoke again, "Matthew, be sensible. You're in no condition to be going anywhere. And you certainly won't be driving anywhere for a while."

"I've got one good hand," snapped Lawson, "I'll be fine." He put the cup of tea down with such force that the contents splashed into the saucer. "So if you're not going to help me, then I'll be on my way," he said, scowling. He started to stand but swayed slightly and sat down heavily.

Blake was by his side in an instant, taking Lawson's good hand and checking his pulse. "At least have another cup of tea before you go," he said quietly. "Mattie, would you mind? Matthew, give her your cup."

Gritting his teeth, Lawson picked up the cup and saucer. His hand was shaking slightly as he held it out to Mattie, but to his surprise, she didn't take it from him. Instead, and with an almost apologetic expression on her face, she reached out and tapped the cup, hard. The resulting vibration sent tremors through Lawson's hand and he gasped in pain as he lost his grip and both cup and saucer went crashing to the ground. "That was a dirty trick," he growled as Mattie crouched down and started to pick up the pieces.

"But an effective one, thank you Mattie," said Blake. "There's no way you'll be able to hold a steering wheel." He let go of Lawson's uninjured hand and sat down beside him on the examination table. "Look, if you won't let me take you to the hospital, at least let me drive you to Melbourne. Then once you've done what you need to do at the hearing, I can get you treated there."

"No," said Lawson, shaking his head. "It might not be safe. Morgan thinks that I'm safely tucked away and not in a position to kick up a fuss. But if Eddie went running back to him and he finds out that I'm on the loose, well, he could easily send a few more of his goons out to make sure I don't get to Melbourne in one piece."

"All the more reason to for you to have a responsible person by your side to keep you out of trouble," said Blake with a smile as he patted Lawson on the back.

"Yeah, but where am I going to find somebody like that at this hour of night," said Lawson. His smile turned into a grimace as the stitches tightened in his cheek.

"I'll give you another shot before we go, just to take the edge off," said Blake. Standing, he looked at his watch. "In fact, we probably have some time to spare. How about I rustle up a spot of early breakfast before we go."

"We don't have time for that," said Lawson.

"What's the rush?" asked Mattie, the pieces of the cup and saucer in her hand. "The committee won't sit before nine and surely all you have to do is explain the situation to them once you get there."

Lawson sighed, "It's not going to be that simple. My original report accusing Munro will be already on record, but his cronies will see to it that my signed retraction gets placed into evidence first off the bat. Then it'll only be my word for it that it was signed under duress. If Morgan is to be believed, then at least one of the committee is in his pocket and they're looking for is an excuse to dismiss the charges."

"But that's terrible," said Mattie, "There must be something we can do."

Blake saw a satisfied smile on Lawson's face, "You're found another rabbit to pull out of the hat, haven't you?" he said.

"I've found another hat," said Lawson "Won't be any use if I can't pull the rabbit out of it. But for that, I need time in Melbourne."

"Well I'll go and get changed then," said Blake. "Mattie, would you be so good as to make up a thermos of tea and some sandwiches. If we can't have breakfast here, we can at least have something along the way."

"Of course," said Mattie, "I'll just get dressed first and then we can be on our way."

Both men exchanged glances. "Mattie," said Blake, "I really don't think that's wise. If as Lawson says, Morgan has men trying to intercept him, I don't want to put you in danger as well."

"And if there is somebody looking for the Inspector, he's just as likely to start in Ballarat and it wouldn't be too long before he'd look here."

Blake started to protest, but to his surprise, Lawson interrupted. "She's not wrong," he said. Clearing his throat, he added, "And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Mattie because of me."

"Well, it looks like we're going on a field trip then," said Blake.

* * *

To be continued


	4. Isolation

Title: Intimidation  
Chapter: 4 - Isolation  
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Characters: Matthew Lawson, Charlie Davis, William Munro  
Rating: 15  
Spoilers: Seasons 3  
Summary:  
Word count: ~ 2,700  
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.  
Note – I know nothing about the procedures for police disciplinary hearings, so apologies for any inaccuracies.

* * *

Charlie looked at his watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. He was sitting in a corridor in the Melbourne police headquarters, waiting for Munro's hearing to start. He'd spent the night at his mother's house, in part to ensure that he would be on time that morning, but also to explain to her in full just what this hearing was about, and more to the point, what the possible consequences would be for him if the hearing went Munro's way.

"I don't think I'd lose my job over it," he'd done his best to reassure her, "But with Superintendent Munro and his friends in charge, well, at best there wouldn't be much chance of me rising through the ranks."

"And at worst?" Mrs Davis had asked quietly.

"At worst they could try to force me out. Maybe transfer me to the far end of the state or shame me into resigning." Charlie had looked his mother in the eye, "It's a risk I'll have to take, I can't just stay quiet and let Munro get away with it. I have to do what's right."

He hadn't slept much that night, tossing and turning as he mentally reviewed the official statement that he was going to make at the hearing. Lawson had told him that it wasn't necessary for him to appear. "I'm the one who has signed off on the complaint; I'm the one they were after in the first place. This is my fight and there's no need for you to put your neck on the block as well."  
But Charlie knew that he had to step up and make a stand. Maybe this would be enough of a penance to ease his conscience over having been part of the reason that Lawson had been replaced and later demoted. "It's not your fault" Lawson had told him on more than one occasion. "If it hadn't been you, they'd have found somebody else."

"But they didn't," Charlie had said, "They told me it was the right thing to do and I believed them."

So now he was sitting there, waiting for the hearing to start and his opportunity to right some wrongs. He was almost looking forward for the chance to face down Munro...the only problem was, it looked like he was going to be doing it alone.

Charlie hadn't been too worried when he had arrived at the venue. He'd arranged to meet Lawson an hour before the hearing was due to start, and having allowed himself ample time to cross the city, he found himself waiting outside the building for the Inspector. But the minutes ticked on and Lawson didn't show. "Maybe he's running late," thought Charlie as he paced up and down. "There could have been a serious crime reported that he needed to deal with, or maybe he just got a flat tire on the way."

Charlie had waited for half an hour before finding a payphone. He tried Lawson's house first, but wasn't surprised to get no reply. He was surprised however when he tried Blake's house with the same lack of response. "C'mon Mattie," he said out loud. "Surely you're up by this hour even if the Doc has been called out." With some misgivings he disconnected the call and hesitated for a few seconds before dialling Ballarat police station. To his relief, the call was answered by Constable Simmons, rather than Sergeant Hobart. But Charlie's relief was short-lived as Ned told him that no, there was had been no sign of the Inspector or even Doctor Blake that morning. "Wasn't the Boss supposed to be in Melbourne with you today?" Ned had asked. "Yes, he is," said Charlie, thinking quickly, "I just wasn't sure if he was calling in to the station first." He made his excuses and hung up the phone.

As he made his way to the hearing room, Charlie briefly wondered if maybe Lawson had changed his mind about testifying. "Maybe he figured it was a waste of time trying to get a conviction and decided to shoot through." Charlie dismissed the idea angrily, "No," he told himself, "If the Boss *had* changed his mind, he would have said something, he wouldn't hang me out to dry like this."

The sound of a door opening at the end of the corridor made Charlie look up with a hopeful smile on his face. The smile faded as he watched Superintendent Munro make his way down the corridor, accompanied by a well-dressed man who could only be his legal representation.

Charlie stood as Munro approached him. "Ah, Sergeant Davis," said Munro, managing to make the title sound like an insult. "I see you haven't changed your mind about going through with this foolishness. You do know it's still not too late. All you have to do is withdraw the complaint. I'm a forgiving man, I won't hold a grudge, and there'll still be a place for you at Ballarat station once I've been reinstated."

Munro's voice was as confident as if he'd already heard a verdict returned in his favour. A chill went down Charlie's spine as he once again wondered whether he was doing the right thing. Munro continued speaking, "After all, you were clearly put under undue pressure by Lawson and probably coerced into making a statement which you didn't think through properly. Nobody in the force will think any less of you for speaking up against him now."

If Munro had stopped talking at that point he might have won the day, or at least given Charlie pause for thought. After all, he'd spent much of the last few days arguing with himself over the whole matter. But Munro had added, "And it wouldn't be the first time you'd exposed his shortcomings as a police officer."

The words cut Charlie to the quick but steeled his resolve. He looked Munro straight in the eyes and with a steadiness in his voice that surprised himself, Charlie said, "And I will regret that to the end of my days. Matthew Lawson is a fine man, an honourable man and an outstanding police officer. He's worth ten of you and your friends and I will stand by him and every word of my statement and his...Sir." He almost spat out the last word and took some small satisfaction in noting the brief look of wariness, no, almost of fear that flashed across the other man's face.  
The look was gone in a second, to be replaced by a smug smile. "Too bad Inspector Lawson doesn't seem to be standing by you."

"What have you done?" said Charlie. "What have you done to the Inspector?"

"Me? I've been in Melbourne all week," said Munro, an air of injured innocence. "I haven't seen Lawson since he removed me from my position. Don't blame me if he's finally seen the error of his ways but was too much of a coward to face the music. It's just a pity he's going to drag you down with him. By the time this hearing is over, you'll be lucky if they trust you to direct traffic." He turned and walked away.

Charlie sat down heavily, a sick feeling in his stomach as he realised he had just burnt his boats. If Munro was cleared and reinstated in Ballarat, there was no way that Charlie could work under him. Worse than that, with Munro's connections, Charlie knew he would be lucky to even be kept on the force.

A light touch on his shoulder made him look up hopefully, but his face fell as he saw the committee clerk. "Sergeant Davis. The committee is ready to come to order, but we don't appear to be able to locate Inspector Lawson. Do you know where he is?"

Charlie shook his head, "No, but he will be here. Can you ask them to wait a few minutes?"

"I'll do what I can, but they have a lot to get through. I'm afraid if the Inspector doesn't arrive soon, we'll have to proceed without him."

"He'll be here," said Charlie, with more confidence than he felt. "He'll be here."

* * *

But ten minutes later, there was still no sign of Lawson as Charlie followed the clerk into the meeting room. Three senior police officers were sitting behind a long table at one end of the room; they were the committee that would decide Munro's fate. Beside the table was a chair where the witnesses would read their statement. Munro and his legal counsel were sitting behind a table facing the committee, and there were a few rows of chairs for potential witnesses, police clerks and interested observers.

Charlie's heart was pounding as he took a seat in the front row as far away as possible from Munro. He wiped his hands on his jacket and looked around him, hoping against hope that Lawson might have been waiting there, leaning against a wall just watching the proceedings. It was a vain hope. Charlie sat up straight as he watched the committee speak among themselves.

"It's not as formal as a trial," Lawson had told Charlie a few days earlier, wanting to make sure his younger colleague wasn't overwhelmed by the proceedings. "At this stage it's more like an evidentiary hearing. The committee is charged with evaluating the allegations that have been made against Munro and they have to decide if there's enough evidence to show merit to those allegations. Any written submissions will be entered into evidence, and if necessary the committee will seek testimony from relevant parties." Lawson had cleared his throat before continuing, "The fact that it's not a courtroom shouldn't make you drop your guard. Munro will have his legal representative with him, as stipulated by the police union, and his job will be to tear our report and our testimony to shreds."

"Just like any good defence counsel," Charlie had replied, "I have taken the stand before. I testified in a criminal case before I was transferred to Ballarat."

Lawson had shaken his head, "At least in a criminal trial you've got the Crown prosecutor on your side. And hopefully a judge whose sole interest is justice. But here you'll have the committee members as well, and they'll most likely have their own agenda. A mess like this won't help anybody's career and some of them will probably have made up their minds about this before they've even seen a scrap of evidence. But the charges have been laid and they have to follow procedure."

He had been clearly speaking from experience, Charlie had realised with a pang of guilt.

"I'll make it up to you, Boss," he told himself as he sat and waited. Whatever had caused Lawson to be delayed, Charlie knew that he would expect him to step up in his place. Lost in his thoughts, Charlie almost missed the clerk, Howard he thought his name was, call the session to order and introduce Superintendents Allan, Brown and Cole who were presiding over matters.

"Gentleman," continued Howard, "I have placed before each of you a copy of the charge sheet as set out by Inspector Lawson of Ballarat police station. The Inspector has also produced a detailed report on this matter which will be read into evidence. We will also be hearing testimony from both Inspector Lawson and Sergeant Davis, also of Ballarat Police Station.

So far, all according to plan, thought Charlie. Clearly he would have to read Lawson's report into evidence, but by the time he was finished, surely by then the Boss would have arrived.

"However, the police clerk's office has only recently come into possession of another document which I believe ought to also be placed on record." Charlie sat up a little straighter as Howard continued. "Although it is not an official document, it appears to have been written by the original complainant and it retracts his earlier complaint in full."

"NO!" The word escaped Charlie's lips involuntarily and he found himself on his feet. "Sir, that's not possible." There was an immediate buzz of conversation among the audience.

Allan rapped on the table for silence, "And you are?"

"Charlie Davis, Sir, Sergeant Charlie Davis, Ballarat," said Charlie, almost stumbling over the words as all eyes in the room turned to look at him.

Allan looked at his notes, "Ah yes, the co-complainant. And do you also wish to retract your statement? Because I'll have you know that the Victorian police department takes a very dim view of people who waste police time."

"Sir, yes Sir...I mean, no Sir, I don't wish to withdraw my complaint...and I can't believe that Inspector Lawson wishes to either. That must be a mistake."

Allan gestured to Charlie to approach the committee. He did so on leaden feet. A glance at Munro showed him that the man had a smug look on his face, which contrasted with the varying looks of surprise and curiosity that seemed to be evident on pretty near every other face he could see. "He knew this was coming," thought Charlie, even as he sat down on the witness chair. "He knew." He took the document that Howard handed to him and skimmed through it quickly, his horror growing with each paragraph that he read aloud to the committee. There was a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he came to the end and realised that Lawson had effectively spiked his own guns and Charlie's too. Every piece of evidence that they had carefully collated had been explained and dismissed. Every action of Munro's had been re-cast in a positive or at worst a neutral light. The only small note of consolation, for Charlie at any rate, had been Lawson's confirmation that his young colleague had been ignorant of any conspiracy and had been manipulated into making the complaint.

"You agree that this changes matters," Howard said to the committee when they'd also had a chance to peruse the document.

"Sirs," said Charlie, "I know how this looks, but Inspector Lawson wouldn't have written this."

"You've worked with the Inspector for some time now," said Allan, his voice less harsh than it had been, "Is this his writing? His signature?"

Charlie nodded dumbly.

"And do you also wish to withdraw the complaint? It's clear from Lawson's statement that you were influenced, manipulated somewhat by a senior officer."

Charlie swallowed hard, knowing that he'd been thrown a lifeline. This was it, his final chance to salvage his career, if not his dignity. All he had to do was say yes, and he could walk away. And then he saw Munro and he vowed to himself to wipe that look of triumph off his face, even if only temporarily.

With a steeliness in his voice that belied his fear, Charlie spoke up, "Sirs, I do *not* wish to withdraw my complaint. I don't know where this statement came from, but I do not believe it came from Inspector Lawson." The look of anger on Munro's face was almost worth it thought Charlie.

"So be it," said Allan. "I call this committee to order. Both statements will be placed on record, followed by testimony from Sergeant Davis."

* * *

Charlie steeled himself as Griffin; Munro's legal counsel approached him.  
"You have a habit of turning in your senior officers, Sergeant Davis. First Inspector Lawson, and then Superintendent Munro," said Griffin. "Almost a pattern of disloyalty, one might say."

"No Sir," said Charlie, firmly. "I've always been loyal to the Victoria police force and I will always stand up against corruption, no matter what the rank of the officer involved."

"So you're saying that Inspector Lawson was corrupt when you reported on him earlier this year?"

Charlie shook his head, "I reported on his procedural shortcomings. I wasn't the one who made allegations of corruption against him."

"But you regretted those reports, didn't you? In fact, I put it to this committee that Davis's guilt over his actions with respect to Inspector Lawson made him easy to influence in the matter of these clearly false accusations against Superintendent Munro. Furthermore, I believe that charges should be laid against both Lawson and Davis for conspiracy to convict an innocent man."

"Save your dramatics for a courtroom, Griffin," said Allan, "However I do agree that Inspector Lawson has some serious questions to answer. That is if he ever deigns to grace us with his presence."

"I can answer any questions right now if you'd like." Lawson's voice rang around the room and as one the occupants turned to the doorway where the Inspector was standing.

* * *

to be continued


	5. Justification

Title: Intimidation  
Chapter: 5 - Justification  
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Characters: Matthew Lawson, Charlie Davis, William Munro, Mattie O'Brien, Lucien Blake  
Rating: 15  
Spoilers: Seasons 3  
Summary: Lawson gets the opportunity to state his case but will the committee side with him?  
Word count: ~ 2,000  
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Allan was the first one to recover, "Inspector Lawson, I presume. So nice of you to finally join us. I think yes, we should hear from you directly." He gestured to the witness chair, "Davis you may step down for now."

Charlie walked towards Lawson, hardly able to believe his eyes. Lawson was paler than usual and had a bandage on his left hand as well as a dressing on his cheek.  
"Sir?" whispered Charlie as they passed. "What the bloody hell's going on?"

"It's all right, Davis," said Lawson. "I'll take it from here." He walked up to the committee table.

Charlie took his seat, unsure of what was going to happen, but relieved that he wasn't going to be facing it alone. He could see that Griffin looked equally as puzzled, but Munro on the other hand, Munro was looking about as sick as Charlie had earlier, and was hurriedly whispering in Griffin's ear. The sight of Munro's loss of complacency cheered Charlie somewhat as he waited for Lawson to speak.

"We appear to have two contradictory accounts here," said Allan, indicating Lawson's original statement and the retraction which Charlie had just read out. "One in which you accuse Superintendent Munro and the other in which you praise him. Do you wish to withdraw your original complaint or not?"

"No Sir," said Lawson, "I do not."

"Ah, so you wish to retract your retraction. Inspector, we are all very busy men, and if you don't want to be censured for wasting police time then I hope you have a very good explanation for this. If you didn't want to withdraw your complaint, then why did you write this retraction?"

"Because a man will write pretty much anything if there's a gun to his head," said Lawson, trying to keep his temper under control. "I was abducted last night and coerced into writing that statement. I'm here now to set the record straight."

"And we're supposed to just take your word for it?" said Brown. "It seems to me that you could simply have come to your senses over this attempt to smear the good character of a senior officer but now in the cold light of day you're trying to save your own skin."

So that was Morgan's man on the committee thought Lawson. He knew Allan by reputation, a hard man but with an impeccable reputation. He would be on the side of justice. Brown was clearly going to vote to exonerate Munro if it were at all possible. Cole however was an unknown quantity. If he was in Morgan's pocket too, then Lawson knew he'd already lost. But he also knew that he wasn't going down without a fight.

"No, Sirs," said Lawson, evenly. "I don't expect you to take just my word for it." He put his hand inside his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "I have here one of the original pages which I was forced to transcribe. It's identical to the statement you have before you. The only difference is that it's in William Munro's handwriting." He opened the envelope and handed the sheet of paper to Allan.

"You could easily have forged his handwriting," snapped Griffin. "Are there no lengths you're prepared to stoop to in order to harass my client?"

"A handwriting expert will prove it one way or another. But that will take time," said Lawson, turning to face Munro and Griffin. He pulled out another envelope. "An analysis of the fingerprints on the sheet...now that's another matter." Lawson slammed the envelopes down on Munro's table. "Care to take a guess as to whose prints they found, William."

* * *

"So tell us about this rabbit," said Blake as he drove out of Ballarat. They'd stopped at Lawson's place long enough for him to pull on a clean uniform and then they were on their way. "Sorry, I mean the hat."

Lawson shifted uncomfortably in Blake's passenger seat. "I'm not even sure if there will be a rabbit in it," he said, finally. Putting his hand in his jacket pocket, he carefully pulled out a few folded sheets of paper.

Mattie, leaning forward from the back seat could see that the pages were dusty and had been crumpled up before being refolded. "What is it?" she asked.

"That's the confession that they forced me to write. Or rather, that's the original I had to copy from. It's in Munro's handwriting or I'll eat my hat."

"Difficult to prove that he wrote it though," said Blake. "You'll need a handwriting expert and that can take time. Ah, you're thinking there'll be fingerprints on it. But what if was wearing gloves? You said that Morgan didn't take his gloves off at all."

"Morgan was making sure there was going to be no proof he was ever in Ballarat," said Lawson. "But it's not easy to write with gloves, and besides, he never meant to leave these behind."

Lawson had only found them by chance when he'd gone to check that Scott was indeed dead. They'd evidently been knocked to the ground during his fight with Scott and Eddie. Afterwards, Scott had collected the other sheets and returned them to Morgan, but these had been hidden by the upturned crate. "Morgan took the rest of the pages and they're probably a pile of ash on the side of the road."

"Unless he kept them as an insurance policy against Munro," said Mattie.  
Lawson looked sharply at her while Blake smiled, "Why Mattie, I do believe you're getting into the spirit of things. We'll make a criminal mastermind of you yet!" To Lawson he added, "So all we need to do is check for fingerprints on the pages, see if they're a match for Munro's and we're home and dry. Let's see William weasel his way out of *that*! But why not get it checked at Ballarat? You have the facilities and the results could be wired to Melbourne." Blake caught the expression on Lawson's face. "Ah, you don't know who you can trust."

Lawson shook his head, "It's not that. This isn't their fight. If I go down in flames, I don't want to bring them with me. Besides, if I produce evidence that's been analysed in Ballarat, it'll be tainted by association. We need this to be above suspicion. But I need somebody I can trust."

A few hours later they pulled up in front of a station house where a familiar face was waiting outside.

"Parks," said Lawson, as he climbed painfully out of the car.

"Good to see you, Sir," said Danny, a smile on his face. "I'm just sorry it isn't under better circumstances. Superintendent Collins is waiting inside. He's expecting you." Danny nodded to Blake and Mattie, "I'll catch up with you two after all this is over."

"We'll wait here," said Blake as the pair walked up the steps to the station.

"I know we can trust Danny," said Mattie, "But what about his boss?"

"Lawson and Chief Superintendent Collins go way back," said Blake. "They worked together on several occasions when Lawson was stationed at St. Kilda. When Danny was transferred to Melbourne, Lawson knew that he couldn't stop the transfer, but he was able to get his old mate to pull a few strings and have Danny assigned here. He knew that Collins would look out for him. Let's just hope that their fingerprint analysis brings up the right result."

* * *

Lawson slammed the envelopes down on Munro's table. "Care to take a guess as to whose prints they found, William."

"You bastard," hissed Munro, his face pale as he jumped to his feet. "You're mad if you think you can get away with this."

"Actually my parents were married for over forty years," said Lawson, a smile on his face. "But call me mad again when we're both out of uniform, and well, I may not be so tolerant."

Munro pushed past Lawson to face the committee, Griffin trying in vain to stop him. "Sirs, this is all clearly the work of a deranged individual. The stress of the past few months, his demotion...it's all clearly been too much for the man and has resulted in these baseless accusations. There's not one shred of truth in what's he's saying."

"Are you denying that this is your handwriting?" asked Allan, holding the page so Munro could see it.

"It's a good facsimile," said Munro, "But it's not beyond the work of a forger."

"And the fingerprints?"

Munro hesitated only briefly, "They could already have been on the page before the writing was forged, a blank page from my desk once I'd been removed from my position."

"And I suppose I punched myself in the face as well, just to add to my story," said Lawson, almost cheerfully now that he could see that Munro was on the back foot. "Maybe that's how I sprained my hand. I've always been told I have a hard head!"

Munro shot a venomous look at Lawson but before he could say anything, Allan interrupted. "Well, I believe that before we go any further, my colleagues and I should take a bit of time to discuss the matters that have arisen. Superintendent Munro, you will make yourself available for further questioning before this committee. Consider yourself suspended from all duties until further notice. Inspector Lawson, thank you for bringing this matter before us. That will be all." He held out his hand for the envelope.

"Sir," said Lawson, holding it out. "I should inform you that this report and the handwriting analysis when it's complete are being copied to the Crown Prosecutors Office, together with my official notarised statement on the events of last night. They'll probably wait for your findings before making any recommendation as to charges."

"Why Inspector Lawson," said Brown, "Anyone might think you had a lack of faith in this committee."

"Can't imagine where you'd get that idea from...Sir."

"Nonetheless," continued Brown, "Until our own internal investigation is concluded, it would be inadvisable for any external charges to be brought. Do you understand, Lawson?"

"Oh I understand completely," said Lawson. "And rest assured, I'll await your findings before proceeding. But don't worry, I'll make sure that all the relevant evidence is kept in a safe and secure location until such time as it's needed." He saw Brown's eyes narrow as he realised the implications of Lawson's words.

"Well if that's all," said Allan, "This committee will retire for the day."

"Actually there is one more thing," said Lawson, "What about Ballarat station? We need to know, the public needs to know who's in charge."

"Hmm, a fair point," said Allan. "It may take some time for us to render a decision. And given the recent events, I believe the public deserve a sense of continuity and stability. I shall recommend to the Police Commissioner that you be given a temporary promotion to Chief Inspector and resume your position in charge at Ballarat until further notice." He looked over at his colleagues, "Are there any objections? No? Good."

Lawson stood to attention as the committee members left and a seething Munro was escorted out by Griffin.

He heard footsteps approach him and knew who it was, even before Charlie opened his mouth.

Sir?" he said hesitantly. "What just happened here? Did we win?"

"Not really," said Lawson, carefully. "But we didn't lose either." He took a deep breath before continuing, "Is Munro gone?" he asked, his voice tight with pain. Already exhausted from his long walk to Ballarat, while the short rest at Blake's house had revived him somewhat, the rushed journey down to Melbourne hadn't given him much chance to rest properly. He'd pushed through the pain, not wanting to give Munro the satisfaction of seeing him at less than his best, but now the impetus that had spurred him on was gone. The painkillers that Blake had given him earlier were wearing off, and every part of his body was protesting the limits to which he'd pushed it.

Charlie looked around to see that the room was now empty, "Yes Sir."

"Good," mumbled Lawson, "Didn't want him to see me like this." He closed his eyes as the room started spinning around him.

"Boss!" Charlie watched in horror as Lawson's knees buckled. He was barely able to catch him as he slumped to the ground.

* * *

To be concluded


	6. Vindication

Title: Intimidation  
Chapter: 6 - Vindication  
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries  
Author: Ceindreadh  
Characters: Matthew Lawson, Charlie Davis, Mattie O'Brien, Lucien Blake  
Rating: 15  
Spoilers: Seasons 3  
Summary: The fight is over, but does Lawson still have a price to pay?  
Word count: ~ 1,700  
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Charlie lowered Lawson to the floor, checked that he was breathing steadily and then ran to the door, shouting at the first person he saw to fetch a doctor immediately. A few minutes later, he received another shock as Blake and Mattie were escorted in. "Would somebody please tell me what's been going on?" he asked almost plaintively as Blake quickly knelt beside Lawson and started to check him over.  
"We were waiting outside," said Mattie, "We heard them calling for a doctor."

"So naturally, I offered my services," said Blake, as he loosened Lawson's collar and tie to assist his breathing.

"You mean you stuck your nose in as usual," said Lawson. He opened his eyes and groaned slightly.

"Ah Matthew, welcome back," said Blake. "You know, I'm sure I told you not to overdo things. But this time, I insist that you go to hospital for a proper examination."  
It was a testament to how exhausted Lawson was feeling that he didn't argue with Blake, not too much anyway. After a few half-hearted protests about the paperwork that still had to be completed with regard to the hearing, he allowed himself to be stretchered off to the ambulance accompanied by Blake.

Mattie filled Charlie in on the events of the previous night as Lawson had told them to her earlier. By the time the paperwork was complete and she had driven them to the hospital in Blake's car, Lawson had been treated and admitted for observation.

"But he is going to be okay?" Charlie had asked.

"Oh yes," Blake reassured them both. "His injuries are mostly superficial, cuts and bruises. There's a hairline fracture in his left hand, but it should heal without a problem. It was simply sheer exhaustion that made him collapse. Once he's had a chance to rest up and gets a good night's sleep, he'll be back to his old self in no time. Now, he said he wants a quick word with you Charlie, before we head back to Ballarat. But mind you don't tire him out, otherwise we'll have the Matron to deal with, and we don't want that!"

* * *

Lawson was still looking pale and tired, thought Charlie as he stepped into the hospital room. But there was something different about him, and it took Charlie a few seconds to realise that for probably the first time since he'd met the man, Lawson was completely at ease. The lines of worry and the almost perpetual scowl he'd been wearing for the past few weeks were gone, and he smiled almost warmly at Charlie as he approached the bed.

"Ah Davis," said Lawson, "I just want to run through a few things with you."

The meeting didn't take long, and Charlie was soon dismissed with a list of things to be seen to back in Ballarat.

Charlie had some misgivings as he returned to Blake and Mattie.  
"Ah Charlie," said Blake. "All set to go?"

"Yes Doc," said Charlie, almost absently, "Actually, I was thinking that maybe I should stay in the city tonight. I could make sure the Boss gets back okay in the morning."

"That's already taken care of," said Blake, "Besides, I promised Matthew I'd get you back to Ballarat this evening. I'm sure you have plenty of things to see to for him."

"I do," admitted Charlie, but he still had an uneasy feeling about leaving Lawson behind.

Back in his hospital bed, Lawson too was feeling somewhat uneasy. He couldn't fault the accommodations, or indeed his treatment, but he knew he wasn't going to have a restful night.

He slept fitfully through most of the evening, having been given enough medicine to dull the pain if not banish it completely. Each time he woke however, he'd had the same little jolt as he became aware of his surroundings. And then he woke after a longer period asleep and noticed that the lights had been dimmed around him.

A movement from beside the bed caught Lawson's eye and he sat up quickly with a sharp intake of breath as he recognized Morgan, sitting in the visitor's chair which had been occupied by Charlie only a few hours earlier.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lawson's hand instinctively reached out for the bell that was on the bedside table.

"Come now, Inspector," said Morgan, "Do you really want out little conversation to be disturbed?" He patted his jacket allowing Lawson to see a bulge that could quite easily have been a gun.

Lawson pulled his hand back and glared at Morgan. "I'm pretty sure visiting hours are over." His voice was even, but he could feel his heart pounding.

"They are," said Morgan, "But I told the night nurse that I was just passing through and needed to take this opportunity to speak with you." He paused before continuing, "Given that we have never crossed paths before," he added pointedly.

"So that was the way Morgan was going to play it," thought Lawson. "Act like the previous night had never happened. He'll have set up an alibi, which makes it my word against his." Out loud he said, "So why are you here then? Planning on tying up loose ends…permanently?"

"Inspector Lawson, while I admit that there are times when I may be at odds with law enforcement, I would certainly draw the line at causing permanent harm to any member of the force. It would be extremely bad for my business."

Lawson snorted in disbelief, "Funny that because I was threatened with permanent harm just last night, and maybe I can't prove it but I know damn well it was at your bidding."

"Last night, such a threat may have been worthwhile in order to protect a certain Superintendent," said Morgan, "But since his career would appear to be most likely over, well, there would be no discernible reason to carry out such a threat now." He stood to leave.

"What are you saying?" asked Lawson.

"I'm merely saying that whoever ordered your abduction last night, whoever threatened your life, has by now surely realised that the whole attempt at coercion was a failure and that it would make no sense whatsoever to repeat the process. Good night Inspector Lawson, I'm sure you'll understand when I say I hope we do not meet again." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes and then he was gone.

Lawson leaned back against the headboard, breathing heavily. A noise from the door to the adjoining room made him jump, but he relaxed as he saw Danny Parks emerge. "Did you hear all that, Parks?" he asked.

"Every word, Sir," said Danny. "But he didn't say anything incriminating."

* * *

(some hours earlier)  
"I don't like the idea of leaving you here on your own, Matthew," said Blake. "What if Morgan or one of his men come back to finish the job? Look, why don't you get Charlie to stand guard?" They were in the treatment room at Melbourne hospital, waiting for Lawson's x-rays to be printed.

"No!" said Lawson, vehemently. "I don't want Davis anywhere near this. You're to make sure that he and Miss O'Brien get back to Ballarat this evening. If something's going to happen, he's best out of it." He saw the confusion on Blake's face and sighed, "Look, if Morgan is going to try anything, he's not going to do it tonight if there's a bodyguard sitting outside the door. But I don't fancy the idea of looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life."

"You're not going to set yourself up as bait! Matthew, you're in condition to defend yourself if he *does* try anything."

"I know," said Lawson, "Which is why you're going to place a call to Superintendent Collins and have him send Danny Parks over to keep an eye out."  
Blake hadn't been overly happy about the plan, but even in his weakened state, Lawson was too stubborn to be dissuaded. So Danny had arrived less than an hour later and had been hidden away in the room next door to Lawson's with strict instructions to not interfere unless Morgan or one of his goons appeared to be posing a threat.

* * *

"Every word, Sir," said Danny. "But he didn't say anything incriminating."

"He's too smart for that," said Lawson, "But you heard what he said. I'm no threat to him, which means there's no benefit to him harming me."

"And do you believe him?"

Lawson shrugged, "Strangely enough, I do. He may be a notorious criminal but he's no fool."

"So it's all over. Morgan's not coming after you, Munro won't be coming back to Ballarat. What about the police brass, do you think they'll leave you alone as well?"

"I don't know," said Lawson, "There'll always be another Munro, looking to further his career at the expense of others."

"And there'll always be another Lawson and Collins to stop him," said Danny, loyally. "And a Davis and Parks as well!"

Lawson smiled involuntarily and then yawned, "You might as well go home now, Parks. No point in losing a night's sleep."

"I think I'd better stay, Sir," said Danny. "I'm under strict instructions to get you to Superintendent Collins's house for breakfast."

"Well you can tell Hugh that I'm countermanding his orders."

"Actually," Danny smiled, "It was Mrs. Collins who gave the order and if I don't obey, I'll never get to taste her cooking again!"

Lawson couldn't help but smile, "Well we can't be having that, can we now? Fine, I'll see you in the morning." He watched as Danny settled himself in the visitor's chair. Lawson lay back down in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Lawson hadn't been lying when he said that he believed Morgan. As far as he was concerned, as long as their paths didn't cross again, Morgan would pose no threat to him or Ballarat. But there was always threats from other sources. Maybe the high-ups in Melbourne would stop their attempts to rein in Ballarat station, or maybe they'd send another Munro to cause trouble. There would always be police politics to deal with. "But there'll always be people like me to deal with it," said Lawson to himself. He turned over in the bed and slept.

* * *

The End


End file.
